Guilty or innocent? Opinions?

My girlfriend phoned me saying she will be late, because she was detained by loss prevention at a Meijer grocery store for shoplifting.. Her claim is,
it got hot in the store, so she took her coat off and placed it in the child seat, covering some items that were ultimately not paid for.

My argument is, I have worked in retail and have a best good buddy who was in "loss prevention" at a Target store back in 2003 or so... You CANNOT
approach or accuse a person unless you are SURE they are guilty, for obvious reasons, lawsuits, etc...

She insists that she put the coat over top of the items on accident. What bothers me is, that happens a lot, and they MUST have seen more, they HAD to
have seen more, in order for them to make any accusation, or else they are in deep trouble and open for lawsuits and all other sorts of trouble.

The outcome, is they let her go because the Police Officer had not shown up after 45 minutes or so, and that there is a 30 day period from today where
they can still take action, (bench warrant, etc)

My question is, well your opinion? I do not know whether she is guilty or not, although I suspect she is, because of the tight protocols that need to
be followed in order to prosecute. She is obviously mad as hell at me for not taking her side, but I tell her, from my experience how loss prevention
and the law works, that they would not have made that "move" unless they were absolutely sure about it, in order to cover their own ass'es
legally.

A part of me hopes she is guilty, as bad as that sounds, because things have been rocky from week one (of 4 years) pretty much. Another part of me
loves her. Anyway... Lawyers, leo's, what say you?

I say this because security does not take action until you are outside the store with the goods, You can fill your pockets with stuff in a store and
security will not react until you walk out the door, the reason is legally it is not theft while inside the store.

I say this because security does not take action until you are outside the store with the goods, You can fill your pockets with stuff in a store and
security will not react until you walk out the door, the reason is legally it is not theft while inside the store.

She is a bit of an airhead, not very bright, so I reserve the it "could" have been an accident. But if it were an accident, it should have been easy
for loss prevention to realize that fact, and cut her lose. Which means there is more to it.

I say this because security does not take action until you are outside the store with the goods, You can fill your pockets with stuff in a store and
security will not react until you walk out the door, the reason is legally it is not theft while inside the store.

She is a bit of an airhead, not very bright, so I reserve the it "could" have been an accident. But if it were an accident, it should have been easy
for loss prevention to realize that fact, and cut her lose. Which means there is more to it.

I think a 'blood is thicker than water' approach may in store for this one... maybe until occurrences become repetitive???

Of course, if this is just one of the things that are filling out the list of 'no future potential'... then maybe a case of Go Go Gadget Boot To The
Curb!

Best wishes with the case!

Lol I really do not care if she did... I was a little delinquent when I was a teen and am guilty of far worse. But it is the trust thing. For what it
is worth, she is 33 with no criminal record, as of yet lol.

I say this because security does not take action until you are outside the store with the goods, You can fill your pockets with stuff in a store and
security will not react until you walk out the door, the reason is legally it is not theft while inside the store.

She is a bit of an airhead, not very bright, so I reserve the it "could" have been an accident. But if it were an accident, it should have been easy
for loss prevention to realize that fact, and cut her lose. Which means there is more to it.

You know her best man, Has anything else ever went missing?

Noooo not at all. She hasn't done me wrong that way. She is a very giving person. Maybe she was just testing the waters for a thrill on a certain
overpriced item, I don't know.

People either cope with the 'rush' of feelings or the 'avoidance'. Maybe the personality type in question here merely copes by feeling a 'rush' of
energy. This basic structuring causes a whole array of human actions that cause other humans great mystery.

Excessive coping and unhealthy repetitive forms of coping are what's to be alarmed over. Often times, healthier coping methods just need to be
navigated to keep negative forces at bay.

My question is, well your opinion? I do not know whether she is guilty or not, although I suspect she is, because of the tight protocols that
need to be followed in order to prosecute. She is obviously mad as hell at me for not taking her side, but I tell her, from my experience how loss
prevention and the law works, that they would not have made that "move" unless they were absolutely sure about it, in order to cover their own ass'es
legally.

A part of me hopes she is guilty, as bad as that sounds, because things have been rocky from week one (of 4 years) pretty much. Another part of me
loves her. Anyway... Lawyers, leo's, what say you?

Sounds like you're not sure that you want to continue your relationship with her.
Because that's what you're risking by telling her that you don't believe her...

I've gone through the checkout and put everything from the cart down and payed for it and upon leaving noticed I had something in my hand that I had
not put down. I went back to the counter and told the girl I had it in my hand and she said she was wondering about it but thought maybe I had taken
it in. I payed for it before leaving the store, I can't remember what it even was anymore, it was small. I also left a big pkg of paper towels on
the lower shelf of the cart one time and got all the way out to the car before I discovered it and had to go back into the store to pay for it. I had
no intention of stealing, I am very honest.

One day I was in back of a woman in her twenties in line at the store and she pulled her wallet out of her purse. A dollar bill fell on the floor. I
picked it up and tapped on her shoulder and said she dropped the dollar and she said it was not hers. I told her I saw it fall when she pulled out
her wallet, she snipped and took it like she was doing me a favor for taking the dollar. The teller at the register saw this and when the woman left
she said boy she was rude. I told her if I hadn't seen it fall I would have kept the dollar and she said I should have probably kept it.

Another time I bought some stuff and it came out to a little under ten bucks. I gave the cashier a ten, it was the only cash I had on me and I kept
the purchase under that so I didn't have to use the credit card. Well, she handed me a ten dollar bill and some change back and I told her she gave
me the wrong change, I bought almost ten bucks worth and gave her a ten. She argued I was mistaken and I told her to look in the drawer, she stuck
the ten on top of the twenties. She acted like I was the one who messed up, taking back the ten still thinking she had not messed up even though the
drawer showed she did. I tell you, sometimes being honest is so difficult some times, someone gives you too much money back and you have to argue
with them to take it back.

originally posted by: iTruthSeeker
My girlfriend phoned me saying she will be late, because she was detained by loss prevention at a Meijer grocery store for shoplifting.. Her claim is,
it got hot in the store, so she took her coat off and placed it in the child seat, covering some items that were ultimately not paid for.

My argument is, I have worked in retail and have a best good buddy who was in "loss prevention" at a Target store back in 2003 or so... You CANNOT
approach or accuse a person unless you are SURE they are guilty, for obvious reasons, lawsuits, etc...

She insists that she put the coat over top of the items on accident. What bothers me is, that happens a lot, and they MUST have seen more, they HAD to
have seen more, in order for them to make any accusation, or else they are in deep trouble and open for lawsuits and all other sorts of trouble.

The outcome, is they let her go because the Police Officer had not shown up after 45 minutes or so, and that there is a 30 day period from today where
they can still take action, (bench warrant, etc)

My question is, well your opinion? I do not know whether she is guilty or not, although I suspect she is, because of the tight protocols that need to
be followed in order to prosecute. She is obviously mad as hell at me for not taking her side, but I tell her, from my experience how loss prevention
and the law works, that they would not have made that "move" unless they were absolutely sure about it, in order to cover their own ass'es legally.

A part of me hopes she is guilty, as bad as that sounds, because things have been rocky from week one (of 4 years) pretty much. Another part of me
loves her. Anyway... Lawyers, leo's, what say you?

Hmmm. Covered the child seat.......May I ask, did she forget the kid there since evidently the child seat was missing a kid?

I used to work loss prevention when I was in college...this was many years ago but the true measure of intent is what were the items under the coat.
If it was expensive drug or make-up items or high end meat, wine or cigarettes or items with a significant price.....she intended to steal the items.
I am pretty pragmatic and have seen this technique used on everything from cosmetics to wine and cigarettes....believe what you are comfortable with
but look at the cost of the items under that coat....follow the money.

i once paid for something that cost under ten bucks with a ten...i got just over 20 back in change.
i kept my mouth shut

Two weeks ago, I went to the store and the bill was twenty dollars and eighteen cents. I gave her a fifty and said there is fifty and gave her the
eighteen cents. She gave me the receipt and said thank you and I said where is my thirty bucks. She looked at the receipt and said You gave me a
twenty, then it hit her, she entered twenty eighteen as payment even though she knew it was a fifty. She filed the fifty on top the twenties too.
She shook her head and said sorry. I know things like that can happen, I was not upset and I told her I try to pay attention and mention that it is a
bigger bill when I do those things. I think a lot of people should pay attention when they give a bigger bill plus the change, it was the second time
for me and I understand people make mistakes. That is why I said clearly here is a fifty and I'll get you change. It can go both ways. Concentrate
on the transaction and always remember that the best way to solve problems is to be prepared in advance. The first time I had this happen it took her
looking in the drawer and the twenty was on top of the tens. It is safer not to give change with it if using a larger bill unless you say something.

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